Scouting...

Yup. We're heading down this road now. Ian's pretty excited about Scouting because he gets to hang out with his buddies once a week and he has awesome den leaders! I'm glad he likes it but I feel a little intimidated by the whole thing...I'm still trying to wrap my brain around all the patches, bobcats, cubs, wolfs, beads, belt loops, den, troop and the rest of the Scout jargon. Ben and his four brothers are all Eagle Scouts so the pressure is on!

Big Old Recap

Well, blogging has been at the bottom of my to-do list and since the holidays aren't officially over until the boys have had their joint birthday, I'm entitled to my extra-long blogging break, right?
Thanks, readers.

Well, here's what we've been up to since last time y'all tuned in.

T'was the Night Before Christmas

We decided leave for our Utah on the Eve of Christmas Eve since the weather forecast predicted snow, snow, snow for almost the entire week of Christmas. We stopped in St. George for the night at my sister Stefanie's, and ate breakfast at the best breakfast place EVER...the Bear Paw Cafe. They serve everything you could ever want for breakfast all day, every day. YUM!



We surprised Ben's family on Christmas Eve and my family on Christmas day. It was great to see the stunned look on everyone's faces when we showed up two days early!



Once there was a Snowman

The kids had a blast playing in the new-fallen snow. Even though it was 17 degrees. Kate and daddy made a snowman.

I'll be home for Christmas

For the first time all year my entire family was together including my parents, my 4 siblings, 6 grandkids, 3 in-laws, one boyfriend and the cat, Samantha.

What Child is This

Every time I see my baby sister Julie, we have to compare feet. Not mine, Ian's. Yes, my eight-year-old has about the same size feet as my 23 year-old sis. In fact, they are officially bigger for the first time.

Happy Birthday to You

Ben and Ian celebrated their joint birthday at Disneyland. The promotion this year gives you free entrance into the park, or a gift card in the amount of the entrance fee! Ian got $59 to spend and Ben got $69.
And we saw this starlet up close and personal hanging out with some friends by Tomorrowland. She even smiled at me!


Auld Lang Syne

Because we left early for Utah, we had to come home early. We spent our first New Year's Eve in California! Ben and I rung in the New Year at home, all alone, for the first time since we got married.
New Year's Day our kids begged us to go to the beach. The weather was cool but sunny, but when we got to Corona del Mar, it was foggy and freezing. We explored the tide pools, saw a seal and the kids got in the ocean even though the water was less than comfortable. Crazy kids!

Working Hard on those Christmas Cards

Do you know the best thing to seal envelopes...even hundreds at a time...at an amazing speed, without getting even one paper cut on your tongue or any stickiness at all for that matter, giving you the peace of mind that you will never suffer a Seinfeldian death due to cheap adhesive on envelopes?

The aquadoodle pen!! It works like magic.

Chocolate!

14 friends and I made chocolates for Christmas this year. I think I gained ten pounds just smelling the delicious aroma all day. We made about 50 pounds of chocolates and a huge mess at my friend Amber's house. (I didn't do my hair or make-up that day!)
A big 'thank you' to our friend, Windi, who set it all up and shared her recipes and chocolate making skills with us!

My favorites were the Taffy Cracks, or as we have nicknamed them at my house, Chocolate Ritzis.




Here's the recipe:

1 bag caramels
1 box ritz crackers
1 bag white, milk, or dark chocolate
Cookie sheets lined with parchment paper

On a paper plate, place 8-12 Ritz crackers. Place an unwrapped caramel on each cracker. Microwave 20-30 seconds until the caramels soften. Place another cracker on top of each caramel and squeeze gently together to make a sandwich. Set aside.
Melt chocolate in double boiler. Dip Ritzi into the melted chocolate using a fork. Tap the fork on the side of the pan to allow the excess chocolate to fall back into the pan. Place on a cookie sheet. Cool in refrigerator until chocolate hardens. Drizzle with opposite chocolate color.
Place in plastic container for storage.

Happy Who-bilation!

For our church Christmas party this year we had a Who-bilation, complete with a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Claus, kids crafts, the ever-so-convenient Christmas card exchange, roast beast dinner and Grinch Play!

We had a great time!

Thanks for taking these pictures, Amy.

99 Life Experiences

For my 99th post here are 99 things to experience in a lifetime. I bolded the things I have done!

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world (I've lost count!)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo (On my mission to some elderly people who I hope don't remember)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Been in the Southern Hemisphere
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch -or craft? painting furniture, jewelry
15. Seen the Taj Mahal
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France (3 times!)
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Learned to surf
23. Given a stranger a hug
24. Built a snow fort (Slept in it, too!)
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Done a real triathlon
28. Seen the Alps
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset -both from the same beach on Oahu!
31. Hit a home run -but I rocked at base soccer in Elementary School)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language (No, but I've learned to speak 4 fluently in my lifetime!)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied -this changes...it all depends on my outlook.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a real movie or TV show
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business - not a super profitable or professional one, but way fun! Eek to Chic
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies -but I've bought my fair share!
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (But I've tried...they don't like my blood)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (my china kitty from Copenhagen)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar (Yuck! What's the big deal?)
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Eaten a meal that cost more than $100
75. Learn to type faster than 70 WPM
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone -that's a good thing, right?
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem (Oooh, this is my dream!
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (Nast!)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one (my great-grandma)
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (see 26) Missy!!
97. Been involved in a law suit (No, but Ben sued AT&T for a thousand dollars and won!)
98. done a doughnut in your car in the snow
99. Been stung by a bee

Thank you, Leslie, whom I stole this from. I changed a couple.

Twilight Anticipation Ended

I went to see midnight showing of Twilight with a group of friends...and the anticipation of the event was not quite the reality of the event.



Anticipation...
I expected some serious crazies in line, dressed up as vampires, hysterically hyperventilating at the thought of Edward on a gigantic movie screen, maybe some Bella-like melodramatic teenagers staring at the group of moms I was with, wondering what was wrong with us.

Reality...
Not even one good person to people watch in line! Most of the crowd were 17 year old teenage girls with a couple of boys, unhappy husbands and old ladies in the mix.

Anticipation...
That I would be really scared of the "bad" vampires and/or vampire scenes and that there could be a movie-goer or two dressed as one of the creepy creatures. (Okay, yes, irrational fear of vampires..I know!)

Reality...
The scariest part of the whole thing was a preview for some insanely freaky horror show about a lost twin...the Unborn? I couldn't even look at the screen. The whole audience was screaming and covering their eyes.
Oh, and me, pretending to be a vampire:




Anticipation...
We'd get bored or tired waiting for three hours for the movie to start.

Reality...
I had so much fun with my mommy posse and YW and no kids, and chatted the hours away!


Anticipation...
Cheesy romantic vampire story featuring melodramatic teenagers falling irrevocably in eternally deep love in a matter of days against impossible and unbelievable odds.

Reality...
Cheesy romantic vampire story featuring melodramatic teenagers falling irrevocably in eternally deep love in a matter of days against impossible and unbelievable odds.
I also found it rather funny!